The Colorado Avalanche keep finding the same painful road map, and it’s leading them into trouble again. A Nashville Predators team that had been getting outshot and outplayed for much of the season put Colorado on the wrong side of the result, and the Avs were left chasing familiar problems once more.
It wasn’t just a bad night. It was another game where certain bad habits reared their ugly heads again. Colorado has had some early-season issues that it can’t seem to shake, and the urgency needs to get ramped up quickly.
Elsewhere around the league, the Heritage Classic in Winnipeg had no shortage of attention, but the home side couldn’t turn that stage into a win. Montreal’s Jacob Fowler was the difference for the Canadiens, making 33 saves to secure two points even though the Jets had the better chances.
Carolina also got a major contract piece settled when Alexander Nikishin finally signed, and the number was well below expectations: just $3 million for one year. Meanwhile, Simon Edvinsson remains unsigned and still prefers a trade, with the Sharks among the teams interested in him.
There was also progress in Philadelphia, where the Flyers didn’t win their last game but are getting healthier and playing better at the same time. In Florida, the Panthers shook things up after consecutive losses and responded with a bounce-back win over Chicago. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, are still battling power-play problems, and that was a big reason they couldn’t even pick up a point against the Panthers.
In Other News...
Avalanche Just Showed The Problem Fans Keep Fearing
A bad night at home can look different from one team to the next, but for the Avalanche it came with the kind of problems that tend to linger in a long season. Colorado jumped in front early against Nashville and still walked away with a 6-2 loss, getting outshot 35-21 and watching the game slip away as the Predators kept finding answers. The power play had chances to swing momentum back, yet the Avalanche went scoreless on four opportunities and never fully recovered from the early collapse.
The more troubling part was how often the cracks showed when Colorado was trying to kill penalties, because Nashville cashed in four times on seven man-advantage chances. That kind of special teams gap is the sort of issue fans notice fast, especially when it comes on a night when the building should have been an advantage. Even a late benching of Fedor Svechkov in the third period did little to change the tone, and now the Avalanche move on to a home date with the New Jersey Devils looking for a much cleaner response. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Pipeline Took Another Tough Turn After Costly Eagles Mistakes
The Colorado Eagles had a promising start before things quickly unraveled in a 4-1 loss to the Bakersfield Condors, a result that left another mark on the Avalanche pipeline. Nikita Prishchepov supplied the lone goal for Colorado, but the rest of the night belonged to Bakersfield after the teams were tied 1-1.
Aku Raty powered the Condors with two goals, and Nathan Day picked up his first win of the season with 28 saves. Colorado goaltender Trent Miner faced 30 shots and allowed four goals, as the Eagles could not recover once Bakersfield strung together three unanswered tallies. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Were In Trouble Early For One Frustrating Reason
The Avalanche spent much of the night chasing the game after Nashville raced out to a 3-0 lead through the first two periods. Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos and Ryan O'Reilly all found the net for the Predators, while Colorado kept running into the kind of self-inflicted trouble that can bury a team fast in a tight divisional game.
Turnovers were a problem, and the power play never gave Colorado the lift it needed to get back on track. The second period brought a flurry of penalties and even a fight, but the Predators kept control anyway, leaving the Avalanche to sort through an evening that never found much rhythm. [Read more 🡒]